The world of work has changed profoundly as a result of recent technological developments. Following the structural trends that impact professional skills, updating and valuing them is likely to guarantee future employability.
The way we work is affected by transformations that need to be measured:
- Understand sustainable development on a daily basis.
- Integrate digital reality into jobs.
- Evaluate the impact of artificial intelligence in productivity.
The variety of types of skills, whether they are specific jobs or interpersonal skills, leads to the structuring of your collection tool and thus capitalizing on this internal wealth. It is becoming urgent to no longer rely only on skills acquired in the past but to create real conditions for their enrichment. The professional development of employees is a continuous and targeted process according to the skills needs of companies and the Aspirations of employees.
How do you define professional aptitude?
We can rely on the definition proposed by Cairn, to encompass the 2 components of professional skills:
Professional aptitude is the combination of the qualifications necessary for the performance of a professional activity and the physical and mental conditions validated by occupational medicine.
What is the value of hard skills?
Even though we talk a lot about soft skills, hard skills still have an essential value. Technical skills are generally acquired through a qualification, certification, or diploma. As a result, managers and HR teams contribute to the development of these Hard Skills through training courses whose modalities have expanded considerably. The responsibility of employees to achieve their own development is a reality to which Neobrain contributes.
Data skills
Data analysis is no longer reserved for Data Science alone. Our analysis of emerging skills in support jobs sometimes reveals significant proportions of skills related to Data. This is also the feeling of Wagon for Business, with whom we conducted a webinar on this fundamental trend. Support jobs such as purchasing, treasury or human resources are on the front line.
Watch the replay of our Webinar”The impacts of data on our jobs“.
Discover the mapping checklist inspired by several Neobrain customers. Each step is illustrated to accurately know all the assets of your human resources.
Soft skills that are highly sought after
Let's review examples of key competencies according to McKinsey, which are now to be valued in business.
The development of Soft Skills is, for its part, more difficult to carry out. These skills are partly a matter of personality and partly of learning, so managers and HR are more committed to the valorization of these lasting skills in the company.
Today, the Soft Skills are more sought after because they can be applied to different types of positions and trades. For this reason, we also talk about transversal or transferable skills.
Remote collaboration
We can say that the Covid-19 health crisis has given a boost to remote collaboration, due to the health measures imposed by the situation.
Understanding remote collaboration tools (chats, video conferences, virtual meetings, etc.) is not always easy. It is therefore a skill that must be mastered in order to evolve in organizations that are increasingly reticular, in other words, integrated into networks.
The organization
The growing need for flexibility in the world of work has changed the traditional form of professional teams. The increased use of remote team management requires great organizational skills, in order to prioritize tasks and succeed collectively.
The difficulty arises when all the tasks seem important. The success of a project then depends on the prioritization of tasks, which consists in defining the most important task at a given moment. To do this, managers use The OKRs method in order to give overall coherence to collective goals, and to enhance collective performance.
Adaptation
Today, we are dependent on a constant evolution of our environment, due to globalization and, above all, to the emergence of the information economy. The ability to evolve in an unstable context requires:
- A high tolerance for uncertainty and innovation;
- Multidisciplinary knowledge;
- An excellent predisposition to maintain the ability to change.
Adaptation makes it possible to deal with unforeseen situations in a constructive way, and not to be paralyzed by a climate of uncertainty. This professional competence goes hand in hand with the ability to analyze. It is a question of analysing each situation while maintaining neutrality, in order to seek intelligent solutions.
Due to the economic uncertainty already mentioned, it is becoming inevitable to cultivate an attitude of constant search for opportunities. Maintaining high levels of skills by updating your knowledge on the lookout is therefore essential.
Decision-making
It can be said that decision-making is a decisive skill, in the evolution of a company, A fortiori in a difficult competitive and economic context. The complexity of this process should not be underestimated, as decision-making involves risk taking. You have to be able to anticipate the consequences. There are appropriate methods and tools that managers use to simplify decision-making and improve risk assessment.
Decision-making can be applied on a larger scale. Some companies have fully understood the value of this key competence, to the point of establishing it at the collective level in various phases such as:
- Instruction (collecting information, examining past situations, etc.)
- The choice (options analysis)
- Execution (action).
Christel Guillain testifies to the Neobrain solution in its ability to manage all soft skills and technical skills, watch this testimony.
Critical thinking
The ability to be critical thinkers is fundamental at a time when technology favors Fake news And the Deep Fake. This ability is characterized by the ability to produce a constructed argument, which machines are not yet in a position to achieve.
Employees who develop this competence are thus in a better position to identify solutions and make relevant decisions for the good of collective effectiveness.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is an undeniable asset for employees within a company. We also talk about empathy. It refers to an individual's ability to analyze their own emotions and the emotions of others. The strength of emotional intelligence is multifaceted. It determines the quality of professional relationships, which reduces exposure to stress, and even affects decision-making.
Creativity
This skill is the ability to look at things from a fresh perspective. What is at stake is innovation, a major challenge for maintaining a business in a context of increased competition. Creativity is certainly an innate character trait for some people, but it is a skill that can be developed, thanks to numerous methodologies (Design Thinking, Mindmapping, brainstorming, etc.). The objective is to exploit everyone's creativity, while stimulating collective intelligence within a group or team.
The motivation
At first glance, motivation does not seem to be a skill. Changing the way we look at this psychological factor, and instead turning it into a skill, is a promise of success for businesses. They are beginning to take stock of the problem. In France, we can even talk about a crisis of commitment at work. However, motivation is a driver of productivity.
Overcoming a lack of motivation is not easy. The proximity of the manager, the implementation of continuous feedback, the visibility given to talents on their career paths are the options that we recommend through our employee engagement platform.
Conclusion: maintaining the value of skills
To conclude, the value of Soft Skills is undeniable, especially because they present a minimal risk of obsolescence compared to hard skills. They also make up for a lack of experience.
The use case”How to fight against obsolescence ?” will give you some keys.
Considered from the perspective of “transferable skills”, i.e. skills that can be mobilized in different jobs in the same professional branch, or “transversal skills” that can be used in different professional branches, they encourage internal mobility within an organization.
